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A West Conference clash between the Utah Warriors and the Seattle Seawolves will put a bow on a busy Saturday of Major League Rugby action. The scenic Zions Bank Stadium will serve as the venue for what has become a fierce rivalry between the two founding members.
In their four previous meetings it’s the Seawolves who have come out on top twice, but the tides have been shifting. A draw in their second meeting of 2019 was followed by an extraordinary 88th-minute victory for Utah in one of the league’s best matches of the shortened 2020 campaign.
The Warriors are off to a strong start in 2021 though their two-game unbeaten run came to an end with a 22-21 defeat to the Free Jacks last weekend. They will regret a 20-minute stretch of that game that cost them 19 of those points but will take the positives of scoring last and coming away with a hard-earned losing bonus point on the road.
There are two personnel changes in the forward pack. Veremalua Vugakoto starts at hooker with Chad Gough set for his Utah debut as a replacement. Injury to Aston Fortuin sees Jurie van Vuuren move up into the engine room, Lance Williams sliding back to No8, and Thomas Tu’avao starting on the blindside flank. Mike Gieselman is called up to the bench as loose forward cover.
Tyler Fisher is ruled out in the backs handing a starting opportunity for Mika Kruse at outside center. Collegiate draft pick Derek Ellingson is named in a match day squad for the first time and is one of two players on the bench yet to make their MLR debut along with backup scrumhalf Danny Christensen, an unused sub against the Free Jacks.
Seattle had a week off to try and sort out some major problems that have seen the former Champions fall rapidly from grace. Since the 2019 Final they have won just one of seven games. A flurry of new signings have been announced but it remains to be seen if any can offer answers in the short term.
Two have been selected to the 23 this week albeit both on the bench. Huluholo Mo’ungaloa comes straight in as backup loosehead prop and Seta Tuilevuka is one of three versatile backs in reserve along with Aaron Matthews and Juan Pablo Aguirre. Back row Tommy Clark, originally drafted by Dallas, could make his pro debut as a replacement.
There are five changes to the starting side that lost to LA, three in the forwards. Tim Metcher returns from injury to make his first appearance of the season at tighthead prop, with FP Pelser replacing Les Soloai at lock. Andrew Durutalo shifts to blindside flanker in the absence of Brad Tucker with Canadian international Nakai Penny starting on the openside.
In the backs there are two unusual selections. With no sign of Ben Cima it’s midfielder Kieran Joyce who instead wears the No10 shirt, while scrumhalf JP Smith finds himself on the wing with Devereaux Ferris starting at No9. Shalom Suniula is missing from the squad entirely.
It’s difficult to find advantages heading into this match for Seattle. The Warriors have form, momentum, confidence, and home field advantage. With no Cima there is no match for Hagen Schulte’s kicking prowess and Utah are the more settled side in terms of selection. All roads point to a third consecutive Seawolves loss to start a second straight season.
Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern. Live broadcasts will be available locally on KSL Sports in Utah and Root Sports in Seattle, with The Rugby Network streaming worldwide.
UTAH WARRIORS
1 Franco van den Berg, 2 Veremalua Vugakoto, 3 Angus MacLellan, 4 Jurie van Vuuren, 5 Matt Jensen, 6 Thomas Tu’avao, 7 Bailey Wilson (capt.), 8 Lance Williams, 9 Fraser Hurst, 10 Hagen Schulte, 11 Josh Whippy, 12 Calvin Whiting, 13 Mika Kruse, 14 Mike Te’o, 15 Cliven Loubser
Replacements: 16 Chad Gough, 17 Alex Tucci, 18 Olive Kilifi, 19 James Mocke, 20 Mike Gieselman, 21 Danny Christensen, 22 Derek Ellingson, 23 Joseph Mano
SEATTLE SEAWOLVES
1 Djustice Sears-Duru, 2 James Malcolm, 3 Tim Metcher, 4 Rhyno Herbst, 5 FP Pelser, 6 Andrew Durutalo, 7 Nakai Penny, 8 Riekert Hattingh (capt.), 9 Devereaux Ferris, 10 Kieran Joyce, 11 Sitiveni Tamaivena, 12 George Barton, 13 Ross Neal, 14 JP Smith, 15 Mat Turner
Replacements: 16 Mike Shepherd, 17 Huluholo Mo’ungaloa, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Eric Duechle, 20 Tommy Clark, 21 Seta Tuilevuka, 22 Aaron Matthews, 23 Juan Pablo Aguirre
Date: Saturday, April 10
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman
Kickoff: 19:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Referee: Derek Summers (USA)
Assistants: Kage Green (USA) & Niku Kruger (USA)
Broadcasts: KSL Sports, Root Sports, The Rugby Network
Historical Results
2020-03-07 – Seattle Seawolves 31, Utah Warriors 33 (Starfire Stadium)
2019-05-26 – Seattle Seawolves 27, Utah Warriors 27 (Starfire Stadium)
2019-04-05 – Utah Warriors 36, Seattle Seawolves 48 (Zions Bank Stadium)
2018-05-21 – Seattle Seawolves 41, Utah Warriors 32 (Starfire Stadium)
